Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last section. You are all great. Yay, we got to skip a day again. However, it is January 4. This is a very tough day for Jim for a lot of reasons.

Day 317: Letters to My Parents

Dear Dad:

Hey, it's been a while. I think the last letter was in August 2259. It's now January 2261. A lot has happened in the last 17 months.

We did successfully start our five-year mission. Spock is a great captain, and I really enjoyed the chance to be a first officer. I learned many important skills that will help me if I ever become a captain again. We agreed to rotate for the next assignment, but we might do something different. We're talking about it. Recently, there was an incident that caused us to reassess our 10-year plan.

There has been a lot of exploring and star mapping this last year. Exploring new planets is fun sometimes. Other times I end up with rashes. Right now, we are studying the New Vulcan system. They decided to put a colony here without getting all the data necessary. However, it doesn't look like any stars will go supernova anytime soon. So it seems like they didn't screw up too badly. Although we're going to start visiting the moons and other planets in the system soon so who knows what we'll find out.

Last time I told you that you probably wouldn't be getting any biological grandchildren. Turns out you already had one. Not me though.

So before the Tarsus fuck up, Sam got Arlene pregnant. Then he went off to die. That seems to be a bit of a family trait. I'm planning not to do that with my kids. I'm going to take after Winona and adopt a bunch of children who need me. Although I plan to be a bit soberer.

Anyway, your grandson's name is Peter, and he's a very precocious preteen. Peter loves Legos, Batwoman, and quality lab time with Spock. He plans to go to the Vulcan Science Academy, which will make his grandfather really, really happy. You know the one that's not dead.

Remember last time I said I was letting go of the bitterness after my near-death experience. Being a dad has brought some of that back. I know it's hypocritical to be angry because I'm still in Starfleet even though I have a kid, and it could get me killed. Technically it already has, but I got better.

You probably remember that from the last letter. Although since then, there was another assassination attempt. It was supposed to be against Spock, but I'm sure they were planning to take me out first. That's the only logical way they would have succeeded, but this group was not logical at all.

You're probably wondering why you are just finding out about Peter now. Arlene didn't tell us, not even when she showed up at the house to help me get everything ready for Kevin and Winona when they came back from hell. She was going to tell us after the Vengeance incident, but Winona was in rehab the last time she stopped by.

Anyway, this summer, we had a mission where we responded to a distress call of a nearby research colony. There was a parasite, and it killed a lot of people. That's pretty remarkable for something that looked straight out of a B-rated 20th-century science fiction movie. Anyway, Arlene was one of the people who died. That's when I found out I have a nephew. On her deathbed, she asked me to take care of Peter. She already had that in her will, but Arlene always liked to be prepared.

Spock and I are taking care of Peter. He lives with us on ship. He's our baby, and we love him very much. Peter just spent a couple of weeks with his grandfather on New Vulcan without us, and it was torture. When he leaves us to go to college, it will be miserable. I expect Spock to be sending emails every day. We are going to be those parents.

I think I'm doing OK with this father-ish-hood thing. Peter calls me Uncle Jim 80% of the time now, so that's progress. I also understand why he was afraid. He's lost family before. He's like me. He lost his dad before he was born and then lost his mom. Before that, Peter lost his aunt because the evil grandparents killed her for being a lesbian. Yes, that actually happened. It was a mess and left Peter traumatized.

I like being a father more than being in Starfleet. For the moment, Spock and I can do both. But I think if we're ever made to choose, we're going to choose Peter. Besides, the husband does want to settle down on New Vulcan eventually. Our time there showed me that, yes, I can survive long-term. Although I'm getting the self-cooling underwear. I wonder how my mother-in-law survived for decades on the original Vulcan. Apparently, the colony is almost temperate by comparison.

Let me give you an update on mom. She's doing really good this year. Still sober. She's also back at Starfleet as a contractor. She's trying to fix a lot of things that the previous leadership completely screwed up. I think she's a member of the section of Starfleet that doesn't actually exist, but I'm not going to ask questions. It's better that way. She moved to London. Admiral Nhi Pike is her neighbor. I think she is planning to help her with the babies. She said third times the charm. Although I feel like Kevin came out significantly more well-adjusted than I did. Winona says that's all me.

You should also know that Kevin is engaged to Admiral Chen's daughter. No, not because she's pregnant. After her sister's oopsie pregnancy, Liz became very vigilant about contraception.

Liz Simmons-Chen is just the most wonderful person in the world. I know that they're going to be happy together. They just survived taking care of her sister's daughter for the last 10 months. They can survive everything together, including six months apart.

Starfleet doesn't allow engaged couples to do their semester at ship together. Baby brother will be alone on Discovery until June. I wish the Elder told us about the ship 'disappearing' in the other timeline before Kevin signed up. (He won't give additional details.) But that didn't happen in this timeline. I don't know why that didn't happen in this timeline, and I don't think I want to know. Maybe certain things don't happen here because of other choices. We get to create our own path.

Kevin's fiancé is going to do an additional semester abroad on Yorktown. Technically she already has her time on a ship, but she wants to graduate closer to the same time Kevin does. That way, it will be easier for them to be assigned on the same ship. Although Admiral Chen says it's good for them to spend these six months apart to make sure they can really make it as a Starfleet couple. Even with the tandem assignment priority, serving together is not always possible. I'm pretty sure I'm leaving Starfleet before Spock and I get separated again. I really love my husband. He's the best.

So that's pretty much what's happened during the last year and ½. OK, maybe I left out some important things like Liz's sister getting kidnapped. I can't write what went down with that even in a letter to a dead man. That whole thing was a fiasco. Also a few missions went hilariously bad. I got stranded in a cave but not with my husband.

My current therapist Margarita felt it would be good to write to you today. It's been a rough few weeks. I found out a close friend and family member of my husband is very ill. They're going to try a new treatment, but I don't know if it's going to help. So I've been thinking a lot about my own mortality. I'm not going to show my therapist the letter, but Spock will read it. I wrote it in our therapy journal in hard copy this year. So, I expect chocolates after this. He's a good hubby.

XXXX

Dear James:

I'm glad that you see me as a good husband. We do have vegan chocolate chip cookies waiting for you. Peter made them for you last night. I also have a very relaxing massage planned. Peter will be spending the night with Josephine. So, we have time. I will give you anything you need tonight.

XXXX

Dear Spock:

You really are the best husband. I love you so very much. I will join you in our bedroom as soon as I send a rapid message to mom. I feel like I need to keep the tradition of contacting her on my legal birth day.

XXXX

Starfleet priority message for Commander Winona Kirk Ret. from Captain James Kirk-Grayson

Hi mom:

I thought I would carry on my birth day tradition of contacting you today. I am sorry a call isn't possible. I don't exactly know what ship you're on right now, so I thought a rapid message would be easier.

I heard through Sulu that you guys made it to the ship OK, and you're on your way to Yorktown. I would ask if there were any stops along the way, but it is best I don't about what the big boss is doing. Besides, the surprise inspections are probably a good thing.

I just wanted to let you know that it was great to see you. I'm glad that we could have a good visit, and nobody ended up in tears. Well, because of each other anyway.

Also, thank you for being there for me when I started to freak out over the Elder. I appreciate you kicking his ass and getting him to get a second opinion. Leonard has some treatment ideas that might give him more time, but it's not a cure. But on a day like today, I realize every minute counts. If we can get five more minutes with the Elder, then it's worth it. So, thank you for smacking him upside the head, possibly literally. Neither the Elder nor Kevin will tell me what really happened. (I know better than to ask my father-in-law or Liz.) It's probably best I don't know.

Anyway, write back when you get to Yorktown. I don't expect a response today. I know today is not a good day for you. You lost your husband and got me. I understand there are probably a lot of hard emotions that are tied all together with that. Which is why we always celebrated my birthday in March. You wanted to celebrate what we could've had, not what actually happened.

However, I think celebrating on Spock's birthday works better for me now. It's close to my legal date of birth that most people just assume we're doing a combined party for simplicity and not because of my trauma. We haven't had the heart to tell people Vulcans don't really celebrate birthdays. Although that's probably because they don't get a day off. They really adapted to Christmas.

I hope you have a good rest of your visit with the kids and you do well with the Admiral. It seems like you guys are friends. You got along better than you did with Ben's former mother-in-law. Which is good because you're going to be in-laws with Chen. Thank you for not freaking out about the impending nuptials. Anyway, I'll see you in a few months. I know you're coming to the Sulu wedding because you will be standing in for Ben's parents. Which I find adorable. Anyway, I love you, and I hope to hear from you soon.

To be continued…